2023 Ford Ranger Raptor | The Baja Beast?
The Ranger Raptor is the second in Ford’s performance off-road line-up as the smaller alternative to the F-150 Raptor. But is it worthy of the Raptor moniker or is it merely a badge exercise? Let’s dive in!
The Ranger Raptor has been around for a while now but it has only been in a lower-powered diesel. Good for fuel economy but a real Raptor needs a powerful, screaming engine
Petrol powerhouse
The new Ranger Raptor has a new engine option in its lineup. There’s a twin-turbo 3.0 V6 Ecoboost available now. One that produces a healthy 292 hp and 491 Nm of torque. That power is sent through a 10-speed transmission. This results in a 0-100 kmh of 7.9 seconds. Quite impressive for a 2.5-tonne pickup with a 28 cm ground clearance. And if the numbers won’t impress you, the sound definitely will. The V6 has a civilised quiet start-up mode that will make sure the car doesn’t become an annoyance to your neighbours. But when you switch the exhaust into Baja mode it gets throaty, almost like a straight pipe except for the cats remaining. What a delight engines like these still are.
Baja massaged chassis
The chassis of the new Ranger Raptor is a massive step forwards compared to the last one. Just like on all Raptors, Ford has teamed up with the legendary off-road suspension gurus from FOX Suspension.
The FOX Live Valve internal bypass shock absorbers are the most sophisticated ever to be fitted on any Ranger. The Teflon-infused oil reduces friction by 50% resulting in a much smoother shock absorption. The electronic system regulating this all has made sure that both on- and off-road characteristics are proficient. And the results speak for themselves.
On the road, the Ranger Raptor graciously rides the roads in comfort, at best the only “annoyance” you’ll encounter is the road noise from the 33-inch tires. Anything else from bumps and potholes in the road will be dampened out by the Live Valve plus the big sidewall on those 33-inch tires. Talking a bit more in detail on those Live Valve internal bypasses, the system works in the background to prepare the Ranger Raptor for different road conditions. The shocks have different bypass zones within the system, when the shock compresses, those different zones give the exact amount of support needed for travel and will work in reverse as the shock rebounds back to its original state.
The same system also works off-road but there’s a different calibration on the shocks to allow for handling the rougher terrain. To protect the suspension from severely bottoming out, the FOX Bottom-Out Control provides maximum damping force in the last 25 % of shock travel. Similarly, the system can stiffen the rear dampers to prevent the Ranger Raptor from squatting too much during hard acceleration, improving the vehicle’s stability.
The Ranger Raptor’s ability to tackle the rougher terrain is further enhanced with some proper underbody plating. The front bash plate is almost double the size of the standard Ranger’s. This plate, combined with the engine under shield and transfer case shield, is designed to protect key components of the car from being damaged and stranding you in the wilderness.
Supportive interior
Inside, the Ranger Raptor offers a spacious cabin finished in a combination of leather and Alcantara. As a finishing touch, the inside is sprinkled with orange Raptor details. The seats are super comfortable for long journeys and hold you nicely in place when off-roading. The paddle shifters also have a nice feel to them. Downshifts are a bit delayed sometimes but using them is a joy. The only thing that feels a bit clunky is the shifter.
The infotainment is the typical Ford vertical screen. But it’s wide enough and well thought out that it works very nicely. All things can be found very intuitively, graphics are sharp and the climate controls are still physical buttons making it easy to change the interior climate without having to take your eyes off the path.
Is the baby Raptor a Baja beast?
The new Ranger Raptor is a great successor to the previous one and the addition of the V6 brings it even closer to the bigger brother F-150 which we don’t get on this side of the pond.
At just under 75.000€, you’re paying quite a lot of money for a Ranger (after all, a base Ranger starts at just under 55.000€). However, if you’re looking for a car that can do anything both on- and off-road with this kind of performance, it’s hard to think of a better car than the Ranger Raptor. If only we got the same 405 hp from the V6 as they get in the USA…
